Squad members Tyrone May (knee), Tyrone Phillips and Corey Waddell (both pec) are also unavailable.

The home side got the early jump at Panthers Stadium with a penalty goal, only for the contest to swing hastily when Edwards landed awkwardly in a run and was forced out of the game.

His departure allowed the Bulldogs to wreak havoc down Penrith's reshuffled left edge, twice crossing through Marcelo Montoya and Will Hopoate to take a commanding 12-2 lead.

A late first-half try to Panthers centre Corey Harawira-Naera gave the locals impetus for the second half, setting up one of their bravest wins in recent memory in front of a crowd of 13,765.

A fiery ending finished with a handful of minor scuffles, which included David Klemmer being sin-binned while captain Josh Jackson claimed Trent Merrin threw a punch.

Bulldogs coach Dean Pay admitted frustration is growing in his first year in charge.

"Yeah it was really frustrating. I just thought our first half was OK but the errors in the second half just killed us. We just couldn't handle their line speed at us. That's what it come down to," he said.

Panthers coach Anthony Griffin said it was a good win.

"I thought the Bulldogs were really good tonight. When they got some field position, they were really slick and committed in defence," he said.

"But to be able to be resilient and turn them away at 12-2 and then get back into the game, I thought it was a real good sign for us as a team."